We all know that the Internet has given buyers the ability to hold vendors at arm’s length until they’re ready to engage. This change has necessitated that marketing’s responsibility must reach farther than the top of the marketing funnel. With SiriusDecisions predicting that 75% of all leads will originate from the Web by 2015, technology that supports marketing performance and accountability is a necessity—specifically, marketing automation. As Craig Rosenberg points out in his section of the guidebook, “There is no such thing as ‘plug-and-play.’ There just isn’t.”.

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FUNNEL FOCUS

OCTOBER 20, 2010

[2010] Decrementing a Lead Score: They’re just not that into you

Many of you have seen the 2009 film He’s just not that into you. For those of you that haven’t, bravo – it was terrible. However, the premise of the movie resonates with most of us because we may have been on one side or the other. The film goes through a list of dating scenarios, in which one person should get the hint the other person is blowing them off but doesn’t. Similarly, in the sales process, there are often telltale digital signs that a seemingly viable lead is just not that into you. Lead Scoring models help your sales team prioritize leads that are ready for action. No activity.

Craig Rosenberg’s chapter in the The Quintessential Marketing Automation Guidebook, Marketing Automation: People, Process & Content: The Keys to Success with Marketing Automation Technology , provides some in-depth observations and advice about what needs to be considered for each of the three components. His take inspired some questions, so I followed up to get the answers for you.

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FUNNEL FOCUS

AUGUST 9, 2010

[2010] Spotlight: Craig Rosenberg Reminds Us Marketing Automation is Not Plug and Play

Craig is the Vice President of Products and Services at Focus where he oversees product creation, management, and delivery. He is also the author of the popular b2b sales and marketing blog, the Funnelholic. He is known as an expert in b2b sales marketing across the entire funnel from demand generation to overall marketing to sales process and organization.

In the new era of marketing accountability, it is critical for marketers to adjust their marketing processes to reach farther across the funnel and help drive revenues. Marketing automation plays a critical role in helping marketers accomplish this. How can marketing automation help marketers stay in tune with the multiple channels buyers use to make buying decisions? Good question. The result?

Jill Konrath wrote the first section of The Quintessential Marketing Automation Guidebook where she wrote a letter from Sales telling Marketing exactly what was needed to help drive revenue. If only companies were that brave. Her letter stirred up reactions from our readers, so I caught up with Jill to ask her to share a few more insights about how to bring marketing and sales closer together.

CSO Insights’ 2010 Lead Generation Optimization study found that only 37% of marketers using a lead generation management system say their efforts need improvement. Metrics have fostered a lot of discussion with marketers in the last year or two. Those who have adopted marketing automation software have discovered the difference of using data to drive decisions that help them to realize higher returns on marketing investment as well as customer acquisition. Increase in the development of sales opportunities. Revenues and customer acquisition. Sales Pursuit.
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Social media is that shiny new object that many marketers are rushing to include as a component of their marketing mix. In fact, research shows the budget investments in social media are growing at a steady clip. The good news is that social media is a tool that can wield a lot of power for marketers, if incorporated into their content marketing strategy , not implemented in a stand-alone fashion. One thing that helps accomplish this is to shift the belief that nurturing is defined by email campaigns. It certainly doesn’t have to be. Blogs are also a natural extension to nurturing programs.
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Ardath Albee is a B2B Marketing Strategist and CEO of her firm Marketing Interactions, Inc. She authors the popular Marketing Interactions blog, speaks frequently at industry events and her book, eMarketing Strategies for the Complex Sale was released last fall by McGraw-Hill. Ardath helps B2B companies with complex sales turn prospects into buyers with emarketing strategies powered by contagious content. In her section of the Guide , Use Content Intelligence to Drive Pipeline Momentum , Ardath discusses the job content needs to do to escalate marketing effectiveness. Download the eGuide today.
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Over the last several months Manticore Technology has been marketing our Quintessential Marketing Automation Guidebook to a wide array of B2B marketers. you should have seen it by now). The premise of the guide was simple: Develop a marketing automation best practices eBook with our partner network to drive lead generation and further the message of the importance of process in marketing automation. At the same time we could help build awareness of our marketing automation partner network. The first one was looking at how many touches was optimal in an email marketing campaign. RESULTS.
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Many of you have seen the 2009 film He’s just not that into you. For those of you that haven’t, bravo – it was terrible. However, the premise of the movie resonates with most of us because we may have been on one side or the other. The film goes through a list of dating scenarios, in which one person should get the hint the other person is blowing them off but doesn’t. Similarly, in the sales process, there are often telltale digital signs that a seemingly viable lead is just not that into you. Lead Scoring models help your sales team prioritize leads that are ready for action. No activity.
MORE >>

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